Lactic Acid Bending
by Hugo V
Summary: After a strenuous workout, Korra and Asami retire to the locker room. *quick one-shot*


**Author's Note: One part roughhousing, one part smut. Mix until delicious. **

**I do not own Avatar: Legend of Korra nor any of the (awesome) show's Affiliates.**

**Discretion is Advised**

* * *

Fire red. A bloom of shuddering flame from where she least expected it, caught just in time to perform a clumsy evasion that threw the rhythm of her footing into discord. Asami stumbled forward, hands outstretched as she yelped. The ground rose to meet her. Literally.

"Thanks, Korra." Asami laughed, embarrassed at her evident lack of progress against bending opponents. She used the earth the Avatar had raised to steady herself before adding, "Not just for that, but for helping me brush up on my self-defense. Ever since that thing with dad," Asami bit her lip, "I've been feeling a little weak."

Korra nodded wordlessly, knowing Asami's real reason for asking. Everybody needs a vent for their aggression, and if she was to be the punching bag to Asami's glove, taking the rare hit on the chin was worth hurrying along the mourning process. New Team Avatar was nothing without its driver. "Try to bounce, it helps maintain your agility." Korra advised.

The two women revolved in circles, waiting for the other to make a move, or, otherwise, present an opportunity to attack. Asami had followed Korra's instructions, springing back-and-forth on the balls of her feet. Korra prolonged what should have been a swift firebending gesture, providing an opening for her faux-foe. Asami took it with gusto, striding towards her target.

A harmless lick of fire grazed Asami's shoulder as she closed the gap, switching from ranged defense to hand-to-hand offense. She jabbed twice at Korra's side - deflected twice; she tried a roundhouse to the back of her knee - deflected. Irritation welled up inside her when she looked up to find sympathy etched on her "master's" face. Asami translated it into a side-stepping maneuver she was positive would work. It failed.

"C'mon Asami, what's the matter?" Korra teased, ducking beneath a haphazard swing, "You're getting-" 'dull' was the word she had chosen, had it ever left her chest not in the form of a gasp. Korra recoiled from a powerful kick to her gut. Asami clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes wide with immediate regret. In all of their two days of sparring, neither had ever inflicted any serious pain.

"I'm so sorry." Asami murmured into the shell of her palms.

Korra dusted herself off as she resumed the traditional fighting stance. "You caught me by surprise is all," She said, her pride more wounded then her stomach, "It won't happen again."

Asami caught on to her partner's teasing, offering a smile of her own. They shared a friendly laugh, comfortable in each other's company. Korra summoned a snake of tunneling water from a nearby clay pot, winding it into a translucent orb above her head.

"Say you're up against a waterbender." Korra idly played with the sphere as she continued, "And-"

"When would that ever happen?" Asami interjected in a playful tone, a mischievous glint in her light green eyes. Korra cleared her throat.

"So you're out on one of Republic City's many docks, and after a long bout of fishing," She paused, "Have you ever fished?"

"Once, I think."

"Okay, so you've finished fishing, caught a few fish, and you decide to call it in - head home, right?"

"Right." Asami was enjoying this.

"So as you're leaving, some punks decide the attractive, dainty pedestrian they come across is the perfect target for their purse-snatching misdeeds."

"Do continue."

"So they bend up some water, and what can you do but stand there, frozen. Actually frozen, even." Korra detailed, growing ever more invested in the story she was creating.

Asami gave a maudlin, "No!"

"Yes! So the band of ne'er do wells run off into the night, having claimed another victim!" Korra prepared the ball of water, "Imagine I'm one of them, with greasy, unkempt hair and crazy eyes."

"It's not too difficult." Asami deadpanned.

"Shut up," Korra shot back, grinning. "Waterbending's strength lies in its give-and-take, and mostly deals with countering. Regardless, it can still be used to great effect as an offensive means." She hesitated, "Man, I sound like Tenzin."

Asami waited, patient.

"Predict my attacks. Trace my movements." Korra's voice came calm and composed, almost motherly in the warmth of its weight. It lulled Asami into a state of confused vulnerability as she-

"Gah!" An angry splash dissipated her cloud. Asami dried her face with her forearm before returning her full attention to Korra. Though brash at times, the heiress found her trainer to be surprisingly graceful; the sheer athleticism needed to balance herself against the ebbing and flowing was beyond Asami's understanding. Korra's masterful sway over the nebulous blue left her awestruck. Blue. Like her eyes.

"Ugh!" Another wave, sharper, and, if possible, wetter than the last.

"Are you feeling okay?" Korra asked, easing her mental grip on the water she held. Asami whipped a pin into her damp, jet black hair, pulling it into a more convenient style. She nodded, quiet. "If you don't get this next one I'll make you run laps." Korra joked.

"I can think of better punishments."

…

Silence. The air around them grew tense. Asami's jaw went a few inches slack, as if she could manage to pull the sentence back into her mouth and that would be that. Korra wore a similar expression with half the embarrassment and twice the surprise.

"Say again?"

Asami didn't, instead vying for a quick-witted expurgation, "I said, 'that's one of the better punishments.'" She swallowed, hoping Korra would fall for the ruse. A blush played at her cheeks, just on the edge of crimson.

"Really? Because it sounded like-"

"Earthbending! How do I fight an earthbender?" Asami interrupted, suddenly thirsting for knowledge. Korra smirked.

"So we're just going to skip over waterbending then?"

"I've already got down the basics, kind of. Countering and flowing and such." Asami was incredibly grateful for the subject-change and subsequent dismissal of her last statement. "Tell me, Avatar, in what situation would I find myself battling earthbenders?"

"Well," Korra laughed, "Hypothetically, say you're..."

* * *

Asami ached in bones she never knew existed, her tendons pulling in unique directions. As she sat in the women's locker room, dull agony pressed at every joint. Three straight hours of Korra adamantly pushing her to improve seemed to have its disadvantages. Asami's sleeveless uniform, newly tailored, was beginning to fray around the edges; it's white hue had changed to a dusty grey from her many tumbles, some intentional, most not.

She unwound the tight cloth that bound her wrists, sighing as the pressure eased. The session had lasted longer than expected, though it was not an inconvenience seeing that her schedule was relatively free; Asami had come to learn just how many connections belonged to her father as opposed to herself. As she undid the last of her bindings, Korra entered. She removed the fur shawl from her hips, laying it on a bench adjacent to Asami's.

"I knew you were good," Korra began, "But I'm thoroughly impressed - not just saying that either."

"Thanks. I'll never have a mastery over the four elements or anything, but I feel safer knowing I can protect myself and others." Asami explained as she disrobed, leaving only the milky small of her back and shoulders, divided by breast bindings, exposed to the locker room's stuffy humidity. She withdrew the pin in her hair and shook it free, letting it cascade around her bust like a wide black waterfall.

"You seem a bit tense." Korra observed, noting the heiress' pained posture. Asami nodded her confirmation. She stifled a surprised gasp when two hands descended on either side of her neck. "Need some help?"

"Korra? I-"

"Just relax, breath, loosen up." Korra's words came cloud-like and dreamy as Asami resigned herself to the Avatar's skillful touch. She had dealt, in the past, with lesbian advances. Asami had found that women, strangely, tended toward a more straightforward approach while men beat around the bush, so to speak. Beautiful as she was, members of both genders saw her as an item of pursuit, and thus she had grown accustomed to the subtle art of rejection. Asami had readied a perfect means of escape from the situation when Korra kneaded an especially tender spot.

"A-ahhh." Asami moaned ever-so-slightly. "Can you lactic acid bend too?"

"That and so much more." Korra purred. _She purred! Get outta' there! Think about Mako!_

"Korra, darling, maybe we shouldn't-"

"It's only a harmless massage." Korra placed her weight on one leg, speaking evenly. Asami prepared herself.

_"We're both exhausted," share the blame as to make things less awkward, "And it's been a long day. You're very pretty," add a compliment to soften the blow, "but I'm in a healthy relationship right now." _Asami managed to sum up her thoughts in a single, "Oh, that feels nice."

Korra smirked. Asami winced; she wasn't exactly helping herself. "I can think of better punishments?" Korra recited verbatim, changing the statement into a question. "You assumed I missed that, huh?"

Asami had effectively dug herself a hole, deepening second by luxurious second. Korra was an excellent masseuse, a fact the older woman would never have guessed.

"Turn around." Korra growled. Asami complied, unable to fight her body's will. With a hint of trepidation and a total lack of experience, Korra leaned in to kiss her. They did a dance of tilting heads for a moment, then locked. It broke in a blink.

Asami looked up at her with a foreign expression, a fire raging behind the green of her eyes. It was of unhindered lust. Korra began to comprehend the gravity of her situation as the heiress stood up, half-naked, and started to approach. As she retreated, Asami advanced. Korra grimaced as she backed into the cold steel of a locker. Her attacker drew near.

The older woman lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Korra's hips as she pulled her close. Korra's confidence was replaced by a whimper as Asami pressed her lips against her target's. She fought against Korra's teeth, trailing a hand down to her ass. A muffled yelp heralded its arrival.

Asami graced Korra's left upper thigh with her remaining hand. It crawled beneath her waistband, heading southward. "A-Asami! Asa_mi!" _Contact. The heiress found an outlet for her heat as Korra arched forward. "Damn!" Her fingers planted firmly in her partner, Asami began to make an assortment of gestures, each one more aggressive than the last.

Korra bucked gracelessly against Asami's' calloused hand, giving in to the foreign manipulation. Anyone viewing them at that moment might think that she was being held by force, fighting the woman flush with her; in actuality, there was no battle. At least not in the common usage of the word.

"Asami~!" Korra groaned, her nails unable to find purchase in the metal beneath them.

"What's on your mind?" Asami purred, her smile sly and teasing. She could sense the building warmth, pressurizing at the metaphorical bottleneck. Any second Korra would burst. In three, or maybe four, she did.

_"Ah! Ah, ah." _ The well toned muscles in Korra's legs tensed and untensed, spasming to a discordant rhythm until it gradually gave way to a lingering pleasure-buzz. It was over far too fast, leaving her head swimming and heart pounding. Asami, straight-faced with eyes like jade winter, spoke softly into her ear.

"Look before you leap, honey." And with that, she was gone, leaving Korra alone in the numbing stillness of the locker room. An echo followed in her wake, "Tomorrow then! Same time!"

* * *

**Korrasami is so hard to write, mostly due to the disputable opinion that Asami is kind of one-dimensional. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, tell me so. ;) I felt strange labeling this romance. Does fingering constitute romance? Bluh. **


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